I was one of many readers that was saddened to learn that the publisher had not renewed interest in the continuation of the "Writer's Apprentice Series" and then was delighted as Julia Buckley announced that we could at least visit with the characters again in short stories. I gave myself the gift of "I'm dreaming of a Blue Lake Christmas" last evening reading the short story of "A Dark and Silent Night: A Writer's Apprentice Short Story" and I loved it!

My first exclamation of delight when I began reading the series was for the character Lena London that has the opportunity to be an apprentice writer for her idol, bestselling suspense author Camilla Graham. WoW! I can only imagine the thrill!! The series also appealed to my heart as Camilla has two (2) German Shepherds named Heathcliff and Rochester and Lena has a cat named Lestrade and the last dog my parents and I rescued as a family was a German Shepherd and as an adult I've rescued cats.

One of the features that I've loved in the series has carried over to the short story layout that adds an interesting spark to the beginning of each chapter. In the short story the chapter introductions are a few sentences from previous novels written by Camilla Graham.

To visit with all the favorite characters of this series at Christmas as they are about to celebrate a Blue Lake Christmas was a wonderful way to begin an evening of reading. As the friends gather for a game night prior to Christmas they never guessed they were about to have a real-life mystery to solve. Descriptions are as enchanting as ever and it's the perfect way to catch up with book character friends during the holiday season and it might intrigue and charm new readers to reading the novels if they're not yet familiar with the series. As a good friend would say, it's a "win-win-win" for all.

Merry Christmas to all at Blue Lake and to all who select this cozy Christmas mystery short story. ( )